kung hei fat choy! and other ox musings

tama ba spelling? i am a water ox, born a taurus. tama, masungay ang taong ito sa akin. in more ways than one hehe. let's see what happens. sabi sa ibang reading, hindi bet ang water sign-born sa taong ito dahil earth year siya, like last year. pero ox naman e, at ox ako, so i dunno what that entails. let's see.

positive again, palagay ko. now na nalalaman ko nang unti-unti nang tinatadyakan ng tadhana ang mga lumalapastangan sa aking puri, nagpapasalamat ako sa kalawakan sa pagbabalot sa akin ng magandang karma bilang balabal sa masasamang elemento sa tabi-tabi.

curious? eto ang sinasabi ng stars na magaganap:

Year of the Ox Prediction

Jan. 26, 2009 - Feb. 13, 2010

by Stephanie Dempsey

The Year of the Earth Ox evokes stability and dependability. The Ox is a practical work animal, while the Earth element is steady and firm. Together, they create a kind of plodding energy that can be exasperating. Still, progress will be made in 2009; it will occur in slow, barely perceptible increments. If you stay patient and keep your nose to the grindstone, you will make the most of this ponderous energy.

Oxen place great emphasis on authority and tradition. Therefore, 2009 will lay an especially heavy burden on world leaders. Government officials, CEOs and community organizers will be expected to correct society's ills. If they slack off, they'll be thrown by the wayside. Substance is always favored over style in the Year of the Ox.

Money in the Year of the Ox

2009 promises to be a time of financial restraint, too. The Earth element places great emphasis on the material plane. Saving will be more important than spending. Everyone will be tightening their belts -- even those who are flush with cash. Businesses that work to keep their clients, present materials in a timely manner and provide excellent customer service will survive, while companies that take an indifferent approach to their clientele will fall to ruin. There's no room for slackers in an Ox year, especially as far as commerce is concerned.

Practical tradesmen like plumbers, electricians, carpenters and mechanics may do especially well this year, because the Earth Ox prizes foundations. Anyone involved in strengthening and improving foundations is sure to profit in 2009. Teachers, engineers, farmers, nurses, dentists, doctors, politicians and technicians are also in for a good year, as the Earth Ox favors long-term investments in people and structures. Creative professionals may have a lean year in 2009. Actors, journalists, writers, models and dancers will have to work extra hard to find jobs, as such work seems superfluous to the ultra-practical Earth Ox.

Home improvement projects are highly favored this year. If you don't have the funds to hire a professional, try tackling jobs yourself. You can accomplish miracles with the help of how-to books. Earth Ox years are wonderful for acquiring hands-on skills.

Love in the Year of the Ox

With regard to romance, the Year of the Earth Ox is time to get serious. The Ox doesn't favor careless flings -- remember, this animal favors work over play. In fact, playing fast and loose with somebody's heart could get in you in deep trouble. This is a fabulous year to get engaged or married, provided you're with someone you love. If you're not ready to make a commitment to a casual love interest, you're better off breaking up. Hold out for real thing -- a relationship that will withstand poverty, illness and any other challenges that lie ahead.

Fashions will be more subdued this year; darker colors, durable fabrics and sturdy shoes will be the norm. This will be in keeping with the somber, serious energy of the Earth Ox. As far as travel is concerned, opt for beautiful nature spots as opposed to crowded urban areas. Being in the presence of trees, mountains and lakes can be tremendously relaxing in 2009. Remember, the Ox is a grazing animal, and fares best in wide, open spaces.

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winner ba? click on the link to find out your own sign's readings.

the last time we had an ox year was 1997, and that was indeed an unforgettable year for me. i was 24, working in showbiz, and about to make two huge transitions in my life -- leaving showbiz for the literary world, and leaving heterosexuality.

a scriptwriter friend clipped this news item in a newspaper about some call for manuscripts for a UP National Writers Workshop thingie. i had no idea what that meant, but seeing that that entailed staying in baguio for two whole weeks for free with a stipend attracted me to it. so since the workshop didn't accept screenplays -- and i was that, a scriptwriter -- i thought of collecting some poetry i wrote over the years, since poetry was accepted.

to ensure that i had higher chances of getting in, i also submitted two short stories in filipino. the first one was easy -- i just turned to my short script vault and transformed my original undergraduate thesis script into a short story. that was SI TOTOY SA GUBAT NG DIWATA, an environmental film about and for children. for the second story, i had a hard time. but one night, as i was about to sleep, an idea came to me, and i grabbed my pen and paper and immediately scribbled it down. it was about a woman who committed suicide, and was talking to her best friend about her habilins as a ghost na. but on second reading, i decided to make it postmodern--even before learning what the heck postmodernism meant--by making it sound as if the woman was talking to someone but in reality, she was talking to herself. the image i had in my head was that of someone playing chess with herself, while all along, she is watching the chess game between herself and herself. get it? this visual was somehow inspired by the music video of alanis morissette for IRONIC where she is the driver and the three other passengers in the car are also her. parang ganun. youtube it if you don't know what i'm talking about.

so anyway, that short story became SI JOE COOL KASI, and my second entry to the workshop in baguio. needless to say, yes, i got in. they loved the stories, and i met really good writer friends in the workshop which i still treat as friends to this very day. that was march to april, i think. 1997.

and later that year, september to be exact, those two stories won for me my two palanca awards. both third place. and that gave me the courage to continue on with creative writing. the following year, i resigned from my office and applied for a masters degree in creative writing.

and yeah, about heterosexuality. i came into that baguio workshop a heterosexual, and came out a homosexual. and, like the indigo girls said, that was the beginning of the rest of my life! chos.

so now, here we are.

totoo for me ang sinabi ni jeanette winterson: what you risk reveals what you value. and those two things i risked in my life to attain -- creative writing and lesbianism -- are now the two things i value the most in my life. so happy ito.

sabi nga sa taas, tiyaga, slow and steady, building strong foundations, and reaping the rewards later on. bet lang. patience is a virtue kumbaga. at eto na nga yun.

saya!

let's see what happens this year.

ox na ox!